World Tour - A transition of power in Zambia

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: World Tour with our reporter in Africa, Onize Ohikere.

ONIZE OHIKERE, REPORTER: New Zambian president takes office—We start today here in Africa.

Zambian opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema took the presidential oath of office Monday.

HICHILEMA: Unless our citizens participate in this process we will create a sense of alienation and no one will be safe in such an environment. We are intertwined, we can share common benefits, common values from the process of development. That is possible. It just needs a clever, a smart way of mixing it up, and we will do that.

Hichilema won a landslide victory over incumbent Edgar Lungu. It was his sixth attempt at the presidency.

Analysts hailed the election as a triumph over authoritarianism and attempted election rigging. It was the 17th win for an opposition party in sub-Saharan Africa since 2015. More than 70 percent of Zambians turned out to vote in the August 12th election.

Lungu lost in part because of the country’s economic crisis. Amid rising inflation and unsustainable spending, the government recently defaulted on its loans. Zambia is rich in copper, but more than half of its 18 million people live in poverty.

Iran confirms authenticity of prison video—Next we go to the Middle East.

The head of Iran's prison system admitted Tuesday that leaked video showing abuse at the notorious Evin prison is authentic.

AUDIO: [Man speaking Farsi]

Speaking to reporters, Iran’s judiciary chief said authorities are investigating the incident. The prison chief apologized for what he called “unacceptable behaviors” but offered no plan for reforms.

Hackers reportedly stole the video footage taken by the prison’s security cameras. The videos showed fights among prisoners and guards. They also show overcrowding in cells and harsh conditions. In one shot, a prisoner smashes a mirror and tries to cut his arm with a shard of glass.

Evin has long been known to house political prisoners and those with ties to the West.

Ukraine holds summit on Crimea—Next we go to Eastern Europe.

AUDIO: [Sounds of camera shutters, chatting]

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky hosted a summit over the weekend to rally support for ending Russia’s occupation of the Crimean Peninsula. The president of the European Council joined leaders from Lithuania, Sweden, Poland, and Croatia at the event in Kyiv.

ZELENSKY: [Speaking Ukrainian]

During the meeting, Zelensky said Ukraine would never be able to reclaim Crimea on its own. But he said international help would make it possible to get rid of the armed aggression.

Russian-backed separatists took over the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. More than 13,000 people have died, and the fighting continues. Ukraine said one of its soldiers died in an attack on Sunday.

American woman entombed in France’s Pantheon—And finally, we end today in Europe.

AUDIO: [Man speaking French]

A famous African-American singer, dancer, and actress who was a spy for the French resistance during World War II has achieved one of the country’s highest honors. Josephine Baker will be memorialized in France’s Pantheon mausoleum. French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed the decision on Sunday.

Laurent Kupferman launched the petition to include Baker in the monument to the country’s most revered national figures.

AUDIO: [Man speaking French]

He called her a woman of action who immediately joined the effort to oppose the Nazis in her adopted home. He also hailed her efforts to spread tolerance, especially of racial differences. Although she lived in France, Baker was active in the U.S. Civil Rights movement. She gave speeches and performed in America in the 1950s.

Baker died in Paris in 1975.

That’s this week’s World Tour. Reporting for WORLD, I’m Onize Ohikere in Abuja, Nigeria.

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